Presentation will address how academic libraries are in transition

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Teri Skillman, (808) 956-8688
Outreach Coordinator, Library Services
Posted: Mar 28, 2014

Maris Pacifici
Maris Pacifici

The Humanities Initiative Open Forum presents a second talk by Harriette Hemmasi, Brown University Librarian, titled "Libraries in Transition," on Thursday, April 3, 2014, from 3-4:30 p.m. in UH Hamilton Library Room 301. The talk is free and open to the public.

This presentation outlines ways in which today’s academic libraries are in transition, both internally and in terms of their response to the changing patterns and practices of teaching, learning and research.  Drawing on specific examples from the Brown University Library, Hem­masi will describe ways the library can actively promote and support new, interdisciplinary scholarship and multi-modal literacies by moving be­yond its traditional role as a place for the distribution and consump­tion of knowledge.  It can then become an environment -- both physical and virtual -- for the experimentation, production and processing of new knowledge.

Hemmasi has been the University Librarian at Brown University since 2005.  She has been involved in digital humanities, collaborating on the "Garibaldi on the Surface" project, creating a Digital Scholarship Lab in the library, and co-sponsoring a Digital Arts and Humanities Lecture Series.  She recently presented at Designing the 21st Century Library.  Hemmasi is a strong advocate for creating a center of excellence for digital arts and humanities at Brown University.

This presentation continues the conversation around the question articulated at the first Open Forum in March 2014:  Does UHM need a unit that can be a home and advocate for Humanities-related work on campus? If so, since no such entity exists, what shape should such a unit take?

The Humanities Initiative is intended to explore whether and in what shape to create a unit that might bring focus to Humanities-oriented work across campus and also be a home for fresh initiatives.  The possibilities are many: housing fellowships, sponsoring reading groups, generating collaboration amongst Humanities faculty and students, producing digital archives, facilitating humanities labs, engaging with the broader community, coordinating lecture series and raising funds.

The event is sponsored by the Offices of the Deans of Arts and Humanities; the College of Language, Linguistics and Literature; the School of Pacific and Asian Studies; and the University Librarian.

For more information, visit: http://library.manoa.hawaii.edu/